Building construction



Nov. 12, 1963 T. N. JEFFREss BUILDING CONSTRUCTION l2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Filed May 27, 1959 INVENTOR.

BY @5M/1f.

ATTORNEY Nov. 12, 1963 T. N. JEFFREss 3,110,131

' BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed May 27, 1959 l2 Sheet's-Sheetv INVENTOR.

BY Tzmw, 1o

@fa/I A TTORNE Y M I ml A INVENTOK ATTORNEY l2 Sheets-Sheet 4 T. N. JEFFRESS BUILDING CONSTRUCTION BY 715W 7%,

Nov. 12, 1963 Filed may 1959 Nov. 12, 1963 T. N. .IEFFRESS BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed May 27, 1959 12 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVETQR.

ATTORNEY NoviA 12, 1.963 T. N. JEFFREss 3,1 10,131

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed May' 27, i959 A12 sheets-sheet e .j INVENTQR.

61M BY (Mx/f.

ATTORNEY Nov. 12, 1963 T. N. JEFFREsYs BUILDING CONSTRUCTION l2 Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed May 27, 1959 INVENTOR. Mc

ATTORNEY Nov. 12, 1963 T. N. JEFFREss 3,110,131

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION vFiled May 27, 1959 12 Sheets-Sheet 8 mmm ,l www@Hummm =,,uuu1111.1uumnnn:

Il a! I BY A TTORNE Y Nov. 12, 1963 T. N. JEFFRESS 3,110,131

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed May 27. 1959 l l2 Sheets-Sheet 9 O (INVENTOR BY `FWCDMZQQM j/,w

A TTORNE Y Nov. l2, 1963 T. N. JEFFRl-:ss

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION l2 Sheets-Sheet l0 Filed May 27, 1959 INVENTOR. d4 QZCW 4g ATTORNEY Nov. 12, 1963 Filed May 27. 1959 T. N. JEFFRESS BUILDING CONSTRUCTION l2 Sheets-Sheet 11 A TTORNE Y Nov. 12, 1963 r. N. JEFFREss BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Y l2 Sheets-Sheet 12 Filed May 27, 1959 mm- A .@mlhm ON N mE NQ mm mlm United States Patent O 3,116,131 BUILDING CNS'IRUC'IION Thomas Nelson Jelress, Washington, D.C., asignar to .lelress-Dyer, Inc., Washington, D.C., a corporation of the District of Columbia Filed May 27, 1959, Ser. No. 816,250 1 Claim. (Cl. Sil- 399) The present invention relates to building construction and more particularly to structural surfacing components of buildings and to panel elements of such components.

The structural surfacing components comprise walls, including principally exterior Walls, as well as roofs and floors. rIhese components, forming structural parts of the kbuilding as distinguished from merely surface coatings or inishes, Iare made up in each case of assemblies of composite panels of special construction, and the panels are assembled in certain new relationships and, furthe-r in accordance with the principles of the present invention, the assemblies are mounted on structural framework members of the building; and each of the panels, the assembly thereof in a wall, roof or floor component, and the manner of mounting the assemblies in position in the building, is believed to be inventively new and is to be hereinafter claimed as part of the present invention.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a new kind of wall, roof or oor component of a building structure, hereinafter called generically a structural surfacing component, that will be superior to the best such components of the prior art in trespect of appearance, ease of erection, economy of manufacture, resistance to tire, insulating value, yboth thermal and sound, lightness of weight, impermeability to moisture, lfreedom from maintenance requirements, general durability, and other desirable qualities.

A related object is to produce certain individual elements for assembly into a component of the type indicated, e.g., panel elements, bracket xtures for securing the panels to the building framework, pin elements for xing the panels together and to the brackets, gasket or caulking means for sealing the panels to each other, and other cooperating elements of the finished assembly.

Another and more specic object of one form of embodiment `of the invention is to provide an exterior wall capable of being erected speedily by mounting preformed and preiinished panels onto a building framework support so that the initial assembly will constitute the iinal and complete operation, requiring no application of surface coating, caulking, pointing or other work normally required to complete a laid up wall of block or panel ele-ments or the like.

A related specific object of another form of embodiment of the invention is to provide a roof capable of being erected speedily and expeditiously by mounting similar preformed and prenished panels on more or less conventional framework members so that the installed assembly can if desired be left unnished, after the application of certain simple joint or seam coverings, requiring the application of no surface coating or nish.

Another specic object, in the case of still another form of embodiment lof the invention, is to provide a floor construction composed of an assembly of panels made in general like those of the wall and roof assemblies which can be easily and rapidly laid on suitable more or less conventional beams or joists so as fto present an upper surface that will serve as a foundation for the application of any conventional type of flooring material and at the same time provide an under surface that will serve, without the application of any coating, covering, nish or the like, as a decorative and thermally and acoustically insulated ceiling.

Other specific objects are concerned with improvements ice in the panels per se by which they aremade well adapted to quantity production at low cost out of die stamped sheet metal sheathing and an internal filling of poured cementitious stilem'ng material, or a precast rigid board or slab, combined with a cooperating layer of preformed honeycomb or analogous insulating sheet material.

(lther objects and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art from lthe following description of certain preferred forms of embodiment which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a plurality of panels mounted on certain structural members of a building framework and constituting a portion of the eX- terior wall of the building;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional View, such as would be produced on the line 2 2 of FIG. l, but showing the manner in which the new wall may be joined to a conventional form of roof structure appearing at the upper end of the figure;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional View on a relatively enlarged scale, taken on the line 3--3 of FIG. l;

FIIG 4 is a similar view taken on the line `4 4 of FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view, such as would be produced on the line 5 5 of FIG. 1, but showing a corner |construction at the right hand side of the figure;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a pin element used in the construction FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 7 7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view, like that of FIG. 1, but showing a specifically diffe-rent torni of panel used in assembling the wall;

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional fragmentary view taken on the line 9-9 .of FIG. 8 showing, on a relatively enlarged scale, the manner of mounting a wall panel and connecting a window unit;

FIG. 10 is a similar type of View showing a form of connection between a wall and roof;

FIG. 11 is a perspective View of one type of panel adapted to be used in the wall provided by the invention;

FIG. 12 is a lengthwise or Vertical sectional View taken on the line 12-12 of FIG. 11, but on a relatively enlarged scale;

FIG. 13 is a transverse or horizontal sectional view taken on the line 13-13 of FIG. 1l, on the scale of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 14-14 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a perspective View of one of the angle brackets vused in mounting the wall panels on the building framework.

FIG. 16 is a top plan view of a portion of a roof assembled in accordance with the principles of the invention, employing an assembly of panels provided by the invention;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of one of the panels used in assembling the roof shown in FIG. 16

FIG. 18 is a detail sectional View taken on the line 18-18 of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a cross sectional View taken on the line 19-19 of FIG. 17;

FIG. 2O is a detail cross sectional view of the joint between adjacent panels of the roof, taken on the line Ztl-20 of FIG. 16;

FIG. 2l is a lengthwise cross sectional view taken on the line 21-21 of FIG. 19;

FIG. 22 is a detail lengthwise cross sectional view taken on the line 22-22 of FIG. 20;

FIG. 23 is a lengthwise vertical cross sectional view taken on the line 23--23 of FIG. 16;

FIG. 24 is an enlarged detail view of one of the joints shown in FiG. 23, comprising a lengthwise section taken on the line 24--24 of FIG. 16;

FIG. 25 is a vertical sectional View taken through a completed iioor showing door-type panels assembled on supporting joists and covered by appropriate finishing material; and

FIG. 26 is an enlarged detail sectional View of FIG. 26 showing the internal structure of the floor panels and the detail of the inter-panel joint.

It is to be understood that these preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed merely for lthe purpose of illustrating the inventive principles that are intended to be covered by the appended claims and that not all of the details illustrated and described need be used in the particular forms or combinations shown but that all are capable of modification within the broad principles of the invention and the scope and purview of the broader of the claims.

In the drawings, and referring rst to FIGS. 1-16, which illustrate the wall embodiment of the invention, the refer numeral 20 designates generally and generically any rigid horizontal framework member of a wall, particularly an exterior wall, of a building or analogous structure. These members may be steel beams or girders, reinforced concrete Velements or any equivalent components forming a framework structure to which a wall surfacing assembly is to be applied. The present invention, it will be understood, is concerned with the structural surfacing per se, the elements thereof, and the means and manner of erecting the assembly and securing it to the supporting framework and not yto the framework itself.

The members 20 are positioned in the building framework at vertically spaced intervals preferably conforming substantially to the door spacing, although in some cases it is possible to arrange them at a spacing equal to some aliquot part of the distance between adjacent doors. The members 20 are fixed in position in the framework by cooperating framework members of any appropriate kind and any suitable arrangement, such as the vertical members 21 shown in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 8.

Secured 4to the horizontal members 20, at horizontally spaced intervals, are a series of brackets 22, each consisting ofV a short length of angle iron. The brackets may be welded directly to the horizontal members if the latter are of steel. They may be welded to steel channel or angle inserts cast into concrete members and presenting a steel surface flush with the vertical exterior face of the member. They may be otherwise secured to the members, such as the manner shown in the drawings in which, as best appears in FIG. 15, each of these brackets has one of its flanges Vprovided with a pair of spaced parallel slots 23 that are normal to the vertex between the flanges, and the other flange is provided with a pair of spaced aligned slots 24 that are parallel to the vertex. The parallel slots 23 are intended to pass the Shanks of bolts 25 or equivalent studs or threaded rods that project horizontally from the horizontal framing members 2Q. Nuts 26 threaded onto the ends of the bolts 25 serve to hold the brackets 22 on the framing members 20 by clamping the flanges thereof containing the slots 23 fast against the surfaces of the members, with the brackets secured to each member adjusted to accurate horizontal alignment, and with -the brackets secured to vertically spaced superposed members 20 arranged with their slots 24 arranged in vertical alignment. It will be appreciated that this horizontal alignment is' facilitated and easily accomplished by reason of the slots 23 being considerably longer than the diameter of the bolt Shanks that extend through them, and because the length of the slots 24 makes it easy to position vertically superposed brackets with substantial portions at least of the slots 24-overlapping- The bolts 25 are mounted in the members Y2t) by embedding their heads in the concrete, if the members V20 be of concrete, or by extending the head- Such factors as the size of the brackets 22, and the spacings and numbers in which they are mounted, form no part of the invention and will be determined by the character and size of the wall to be erected. However, in the interest oftdisclosing a preferred operative embodiment of the invention, it may be stated that brackets of the approximate dimensions of one foot in length with flanges four inches wide are appropriate for use with panels of ten feet in height by four feet wide, such as will now be described. In such a construction the brackets may be set on four feet centers, as shown in FIG. 1.

A preferred form of panel proposed by the invention is designated generally 3i? and consists generally of a rectangular, preferably oblong, body having an outer sheath or shell of sheet metal completely enclosing a specially formed interior filling providing any required amount of stiffness and having a high degree of sound and thermal insulating value. The sheet metal may be, for example, sheet steel of 16 to 20 gauge, having its outer surface iinished with enamel, lacquer or other appropriate coating, or aluminum, bronze or other metal may be used. The shell is best made in the form of two shallow pans, providing respectively an outer face 31 and an inner face 32 and having perimetric edge anges 37 interiitted and secured together, as by spot welding or the equivalent, to form a weathertight enclosure for the filling.

The filling is of special character, preferably comprising several different layers superposed one on another successively when the panel is being fabricated by laying the inner-face-forming pan element 32 on a horizontal surface with its open side up. Thus positioned, the iilling is inserted. This may comprise a stiifening slab 33 tted into the lower zone of the pan element 32 which is preferably made by separately and externally precasting in a suitable form a plastic cementitious aggregate of perlite with gypsum plaster, preferably with a light reinforcement of wire mesh, which is either originally cast to size or may be cut from larger slabs. The separate precasting is preferred to casting in the pan element 32 to insure proper curing and moisture control of the fill, so that all problems of rust, corrosion and the like concomitants of wet fillings are obviated in the finished panel. However, it is quite possible in some instances, particularly where there is no objection to allowing the pan elements 32 to stand open with their fills curing over a relatively long period of time, to pour the cementitious stiffeningfill directly into them while in wet, plastic condition and allow it to set to proper hardness and low moisture content. In either case the lightweight, stiftening, reproofing fill indicated at 33 in the drawings is provided in the lower zone of the pan element 32 up to or slightly beyond the osets hereinafter to be described. This portion of the iill thus occupies only about threeuarters to four-fifths of the depth of the pan. Over it is laid a sheet of aluminum foil 34, and superposed on that sheet is laid a layer of special honeycomb insulation 35, which in turn is covered by a sheet of aluminum foil 36. If desired or found necessary to bring the level of the precast cementitious ll 33 up beyond the level of the offsets hereinafter to be described, some additional plastic iill of the same ingredients may be poured in place. The drawings show the till 33 as extending homogeneously over into the offsets, and this is intended to indicate the use of either the precast type of fill, which is preferred, whether cut or molded exactly to size, or whether supplemented by plastic additions after insertion,

and to indicate also the result of the poured in place type of ll.

It is to be understood that all references in this specilication and in the appended claims to the cementitious fill, or the plastic fill, or the stilfening fill 33 designated in any manner to distinguish it from the insulating iill 35, are intended to comprehend the till 33 of perlite or equivalent lightweight aggregate as hereinabove described, whether precast as preferred or poured in situ, as is also contemplated.

The two sheets of foil 34 and 36 serve as thermal insulation, and the honeycomb layer 35 functions to insulate the wall both thermally and acoustically. The honeycomb layer is best made of paper, impregnated with a non-amable glue, convoluted to provide a multiplicity of hollow cells of some such shape as the hexagonal one shown in the illustrated embodiment of the panel, all xed in position and shape by the set glue, and all cooperating to provide a multiplicity of dead air spaces, as will be understood. The layer 35 may be faced with paper or light cardboard, in addition to the foil sheets, if desired, and the assembly of layer, foil and/ or sheets may be bonded to the plastic ll 33 by means of a coating of industrial adhesive such as 3M Adhesive Formula EC-l357 produced by Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company, of St. Paul, Minnesota, or Armstrongs D-253 Adhesive made by Armstrong Cork Company, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

As shown in the drawing, and particularly FIGS. l, 2, 5, l1 and l2, each of the edges of the panel Si) is offset or stepped, so that the lower edge of the front face is downwardly flanged, as shown at 40, the rear face is upwardly flanged, as shown at 41, and one of the two lateral or Vertical edges, for example the lefthand edge 42, is outwardly flanged at the back face, and the other verical edge is outwardly flanged at the front face, as shown at 43. This is for the purpose of enabling the panels to be mounted in overlapping edged relation in the wall, as will be hereinafter explained, and to provide offset joints between the panels to enhance the weatherproof qualities of the wall.

Each of the panels Stb is provided with internal sockets for reception of pins mounting the panel on the brackets 22. An acceptable type of socket-forming element is shown at 45 in the drawings. lt consists simply of a metal block of more or less cube shape spot welded or otherwise aixed to the inner surface of the upper and lower edge anges of that pan element of the panel which received the plastic ll 33 when the panel was being made, i.e., the upper flange 41 and the lower end wall behind the lower flange 4i). The block is bored through a portion only of its depth, as shown at 46, and the bore is aligned with a hole 47 in the panel end wall. Thus the block provides a seat for a pin 4S, of substantially the diameter of the socket bore 45 and the panel end wall hole 47, which is approximately the dimension of the width (not the length) of the slots 24 in the outstanding flanges of the brackets 22. Blocks 45 are provided in each panel in sufficient number, and at proper spacing, to conform and correspond to the slots 24 in the brackets 22 on which the panel is to be mounted. Thus, in the illustrated wall embodiment of the invention, each panel has four of the blocks, one near each of its four corners, and all four being mounted in the edges of the panel which are horizontal when the panel is assembled in the wall. The bores 46 of two of the blocks open downwardly from the upper end edge of the panel in that step of the two steps of the offset edge which is the higher and innermost of the two when the panel is mounted in the wall, arid the bores 46 of the other two blocks open upwardly from the lower end edge of the panel in that step of the two steps of the offset edge which is the higher and innermost of the two when the panel is mounted in the wall. The arrangement, properly oriented as to panel position, is shown inFlG. 12.

A wall is erected by assembling a plurality of the panels on a framework provided with brackets 22 in the following manner: Y

With the brackets 2.2 properly secured in place on the horizontal members 2d by the fastening means 25, 26 or their equivalent, a lower course of panels 30 is set in place, in horizontal alignment, with the lateral, vertical edges of adjacent panels overlapping by interfit of the side flanges 42 and with the lower front flanges 40 depending below the horizontal flanges of the lower brackets 22 and the rear steps of the lower edges of the panels seated on those anges, and with the bores 45 of the socket blocks 45 aligned with the slots 24 in the brackets. The rear steps of the upper edges of the panels are abutted up against the under surfaces of the outstanding flanges of the next higher line of brackets 22, with the bores similarly aligned. Then pins 43 are driven up through the slots 24 and into the socket block bores in the bottoms of the panels so as to tix the panels securely to the flanges of the lower brackets. For this purpose the pins are best made hollow, of relatively resilient metal, with the periphery broken by la slot, and with their ends beveled, as best shown in FlG. 16, so that they seat with a friction drive tit in the slots and bores. The pins are long enough to protrude with about half their length beyond the ange of the bracket when they are driven home to seat in the bottoms of the socket bores. Thus, as the assembling operation proceeds and pins are driven down through the next higher line of brackets land into the upper edges of the panels, these pins will project -above the surfaces of the bracket lianges to seat in the socket bores of an upper course of panels seated on top of the bracket flanges, as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

It is believed to be evident that a wall can be erected in the foregoing manner with great rapidity and with accurately correct placement and relationship of the panels once the brackets 22 are properly adjusted on the framing members 20. Of course the panels should be of identical dimensions, so that they `'are interchangeable' and quick and proper .fitting into place is possible. However, because it is practically desirable, if not absolutely necessary, that some manufacturing tolerances be provided for, it is best to arrange the bottom edges of the panels to seat on the supporting bracket flanges and to allow a slight clearance between the top edges and the superjacent bracket flange, as best shown in FIG. 3. A considerable degree of waterproofing is obtained by the offset horizontal edges of the panels, by which the front surface at the bottom of each panel overlaps the body of the next adjacent lower panel, but the joint may be made absolutely water proof and windproof by interposing a suitable gasket.`

Such -a gasket may take the form of a simple strip of neoprene or equivalent preformed rubberl'ike material. These strips may be bedded on the two steps of the top end walls of the panels, being continuous along the front or lower step as shown at 50, and being interrupted in the form of an otherwise similar strip 51 along the back or higher step to :admit the bracket anges, as will be evident from a comparison of FIGS. 3 and 4. The gasket material being compressible, or at least yieldable and distortable, forms an excellent seal in the inter-panel joint. Similar gasket strips 52 and 53 are installed in the offset surfaces of the Vertical joints between adjacent panels, as shown in FIG. 5.

An unobvious but very considerable advantage of the stepped formation of the upper and lower edges of the panels is the capacity of these edges to be made with the outer -low step of each lower edge disposed farther below the inner high step of said lower edge than the distance by which the outer llow step of the upper edge of the panel extends below the inner high step of said upper edge. Such a relationship of step proportons is shown in the FIG. 3. Obviously the difference in step heights there shown, which is relatively small, can be varied and greatly increased, so ras to provide for the use of brackets having lower (horizontal) anges of greater thickness, and/ or sealing strips of less thickness, if desired. This makes it possible toV mount the panels on brackets 22 each having a horizontal flange of any thickness desired, without correspondingly or unduly increasing the inter-panel space between the outer llow steps to be filled by the gasket 56, and this is therefore deemed to be an important feature of the use of the stepped upper and llower edges in combination with the brackets-a feature of unobvious advantage in addition to the expected advantage of weatherprooiing.

-It is believed that the structure of the pane-l elements and the assembly of the elements into a wall or exterior wall surface in accordance with the principles of the invention will be sufficiently clear from the foregoing description. It may be added, however, that special panel shapes may be provided at the corners, where two walls intersect, as shown at the righthand side of FIG. where the endmost panel A of the front wall is seen formed with a rearwardly projecting flange 6() to complement and intert the standard vertical side flange 42 of the endmost standard panel 30 of the intersecting end wall.

Similarly, the panels may be formed `with openings for the mounting of windows, grills, doorways and the like. Window openings are shown at 61 in FIG. 1. It will be understood that these are virtually cut-outs preformed in the panels and are adapted to have mounted in them any of the many independent preformed window and frame assemblies that are currently in vogue in building rwall constructions, particulanly for 'large commercial structures.

The details of these window and frame inserts form no part of the present invention. It may be stated here simply that they commonly comprise lower sill and upper head elements which, as indicated in broken lines in FIG. 2, may be intertted with the margins of the openings `61, and which connect side jambs or stiles for pivoted or fixed panes.

A further specifically modified type of panel structure is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. There the panels 63 are of half-height, or even shonter, and have their upper ends secured toy supplemental framing members 64 which may be formed of angle stock, slotted in their horizontal flanges, thus rendering the use of separate brackets 22 unnecessary. The vertical spaces between these shortened panels 63 may be lled with window frames 65 which, in the installation selected to illustrate this form of the invention, extend continuously, in mutually abutting relation, laterally yalong the whole length of the assembly of shortened panels, as shown in FIG. 8. The details of these Window inserts are not material to the present invention. Suice it to say that they may include sill and head members intertted with [the lower and upper edges of the panels in some such manner as the sill member 66 which in FIG. 9 is shown capped over the upper edge member 64, with a flashing element 67 interposed on the j outer face of the joint.

"Ihe uppermost course of panel elements may be connected to the roof in any convenient manner, depending on the specic design of the roof and the presence or absence of eaves, cornice, etc. A basic arrangement is depicted in FIG. l0, where the upper edge of the topmos-t panel 30 is shown secured by the pin 4S to the outstanding horizontal flange of an `angle iron 70 whose inner vertical ange is iixed in lany appropriate .v/ay to an adjacent framing member conventionally indicated at 71. The latter member may support the roof structure, broadly designated 72, and suitable flashing 73 may trim the rooting edge and cap the angle iron 70 and the upper edge of the panel, with a drip hashing, gutter or the like interposed.

It will be `appreciated that other special shapes of wall panels Iand special features of design details are contemplated by the invention in its embodimentV in Wall constructions. All of these are believed to be the competence of those skilled in the art and hence not to req-nire detailed discussion in this application, which is necessarily concerned only with the broad basic principles of the invention as defined by the appended claims,

FIGS. 1624 show an application of the inventive principles to the -assembly of a roof, particularly although not necessarily a slightly pitched roof as indicated in FIGS. 23 and 24.

-In this embodiment of the invention panels are fashioned of sheet metal in the same general way as the panels 36 heretofore described. That is to say, they are of rectangular shape in plan, and each comprises a bottom pan 81 containing a cementitious till SZ throughout somewhat more than half of its depth, surmounted by a layer of honeycomb insulation 83, with the sheets of foil and/ or paper as hereinbefore explained, :with a top pan or cover 84 of sheet metal. Thus, in cross section throughout most of `its length, the panel S0 is the same as the panel 3d. However, to tit it to serve as a roofing element, cooperating with other siniilar elements in the manner of tile or shingles, each panel 80 is formed with a pair of upper side edge ribs 85 of la height of about half the thickness of the panel, extending from points below the top edge of the panel to the extreme lower edge. The lower edge margin of the panel is undercut, the body of the panel being removed across the lower end zone for a distance equal to the length of each side rib 85 which is in eect removed from the upper zone of the panel. This shape is best shown by the perspective view of FIG. 17, and it will be apparent from :that figure that the panel shape there shown lends itself to assembling a plurality of panels in the relationship shown in FIG. 16, ywhere it will be observed that horizontal, or substantially horizontal, courses of panels can be formed by abutting Ithe side ribs 85 of laterally adjacent panels together, and lthat such courses can be laid labove and below each other in overlapping relation, with the combined rib joints of the adjacent courses staggered yand with the lower zone of reduced thickness, indicated at 90 in FIG. 17, overlying the upper zone, beyond the ends of the side ribs, indicated at 91 in FIG. 17.

As will be noted by comparing the transverse cross secftional view of FIG. 18 with the lengthwise cross sectional view of FIG. 2l, the cementitious lill 82 occupies the entire lower portion of the panel 80, and the honeycomb layer 83 overlies the whole till 82 and extends into the lower end zone which is reduced to a thickness equal to that of the honeycomb layer alone. The side ribs 85 are left empty and are provided at spaced intervals along their length with openings 92 extending entirely throughY them. The upper and lower transverse edges of the panel Sil are provided with socket blocks like the blocks 4S heretofore described.

Assuming the roof to have a supporting framework including a series of spaced Iapart transverse beams (FIGS. 23 and 24) acting as purlins or the equivalent, the panels 8G are assembled by welding or bolting a series of brackets 101, or equivalent angle irons, on top of the beams 160, with horizontally elongated slots provided in the outstanding flanges of the brackets or irons 101. Pins 48 are driven through these holes into the socket blocks 45 and the panels are thus secured -to fthe beams 1%. The upper end zone 91 of a lower course panel is overlapped by the lower end zone 99 of the next adjacent upper course panel, and the dispar-ity in thickness of the ltwo panels in the overlapping portions may be compensated, so as to provide support for fthe upper course panel on the beam 10i), by interposing shims, like those shown at 102 in FIG. 24.

The panels 89 of each horizontal course i-n the roof are setside by side, with the side ribs 85 of adjacent panels in snug engagement with each other and clamped together by nut and bolt means 106 standing through the holes 92 in Ithe ribs. A capping 107, in the form of an inverted channel of sheet metal, isthen snapped over the two juxtaposed ribs S5, preferably with a layer of sheet packing material 108 in the form of heavy rooting felt interposed and bonded over the ribs by ian application of industrial adhesive, to trim and seal the joint between the ribs and cover the bolt holes 92. Sheet metal screws 109 of the self-tapping type may be used to aix the capping 107 in place.

Because the joints of adjacent courses are preferably staggered, as shown in FIG. 16, it is desirable to connect the upper or head end of the rib joint of each course with the center portions of the lower edge of the next higher course, to insure proper and accurate placement and relationship of the rpanels of the two courses. This is easily accomplished by aftixing to the lower edge of each panel a short cover element 110 in the form of an inverted channel having its rear end closed and securely engaged by screws or the like to the lower end edge of the panel, as shown in FIG. 18, and having its front open to admit the two ribs of the next adjacent lower course panels, covered by their capping 109. rIhis arrangement makes it unnecessary to make the panels with any high degree of accuracy in length of ribs 85. On the contrary, a considerable tolerance is permissible. 'Ihe ribless upper zone 91 of each panel can be made somewhat wider than the length of the overlap by the lower zone 90, so that the joined ribs and their capping will not quite reach the lower edge .of the next adjacent higher course, with the gap well covered, concealed and sealed by the cover element 110.

As in the case of the wall panels 30, the roof panels 80 may be modified in specic dimensions, design and general detail to satisfy special requirements such as openings, corners, edges, and the like. Thus, for example, FIGS. 16 and 23 illustrate shortened panels 115 at the eaves, terminating in a gutter 116. Other panels may be made for the roof with ydownturned edge flanges, with central or side openings, with ashing adjuncts, etc., in the manner of the modications previously described for the wall panels 30, as will be understood.

FIGS. and 26 show an application of the inventive principles to the assembly of a floor. In this embodiment of the invention a plurality of oor panels, designated generally 120, are assembled on and secured to a conventional parallel series of supporting joists or beams 121 and also, if desired, an additional parallel series extending right angularly to those shown at 121. Each of the panels 120 is made in general like the Wall and roofing panels heretofore described, comprising a sheet metal sheath 122 enclosing a lower oementitious dill 123 and an upper honeycomb or equivalent insulating layer 124. The end edges of the panels need not be stepped or offset, but certain pairs of parallel end edges are provided with socket blocks 125 welded to the inner faces of the panel end walls providing sockets open to the outside of the panels, adjacent the corners thereof, as in the case of the previously described panels, for the reception of pins 48. These are driven through outstanding flanges 126, here shown in the form of upstanding lVertical ribs welded onto the tops of the joists 121 and provided vw'th horizontally elongated perforations aligned with the sockets in the edges of abutting panels. The arrangement will be recognized as similar to that by which the roof panels and the wall panels are assembled and mounted in position on the respective outstanding anges provided on other parts of the building framework. The differences are of minor import, amounting principally to slight departures in design necessitated by the special horizontal disposition of the floor panels, the load-carrying capacity required of them, and the desirability in some cases of adding some acoustical treatment to the under surface when the bottoms of the panels are to be used, without further finishing, as the ceiling of a space beneath the oor. Thus,

for example, the under surface of the oor panels may be drilled with a multiplicity of small holes extending up into the cementitious stilfening layer 123 to function in interrupting and breaking up sound waves and thus eliminate or reduce echo effect and so supplement the acoustical insulating eicacy of the upper layer 124 of honeycomb material.

Again, because this upper layer has relatively small compressive strength per unit or area, it is well to dissipate and spread the loads that will be imposed on the iloor. This can be done by covering the assembly of panels with a sheet of relatively heavy gauge metal 131 and covering this with a layer of lightweight concrete or the like 132 topped by any suitable sheet of floor covering 133, such as linoleum, tile or various materials, or'

even simply a coating of paint or equivalent finish.

In this connection it may be noted that the combination of the 16 to ZO-gauge steel surface of the panel and the immediately subjacent llayer of honeycomb insulation,

backed up by the cementitious fill, provides surprising strength in compression and resistance to load and impact, so that the floor is sufliciently strong for many uses and purposes without addition of the covering layer 132. In such cases the upper surfaces of the panels may be left unfinished, or they may be covered with some light finish coating or material, such as paint, flooring tile lor the like.

Whether supplemented as suggested, or lightly finished or left uniinished, a lioo'r constructed of assembled panels as `described will be found to incorporate all the advantages briefly enumerated in the statement of objects of invention at the outset of this specification and adequately strong for most purposes short of the heaviest type of industrial installations where support must be provided for weighty machinery, warehouse inventory and similar heavy dead loads.

In conclusion it may be stated that the invention, whether considered in its forms of embodiment as wall, roof or oor assemblies of panels, or as a panel per se, is capable of being incorporated in means and designs other than those which have been herein described and illustrated for the purpose `of exemplifying typical and preferred species. All such additional means, forms and designs, to the extent that they embody the principles of the invention as -dened by the breadth of the appended claim, are to be deemed within the scope land purview theroef.

I claim:

In a building construction, a series of horizontally disposed angle iron brackets each having a vertical flange aflixed to a wall member of the building and a horizontal ange protruding from said member, said series of brackets being secured -to the wall member in vertically and horizontally aligned spacing, and a wall surfacing assembly mounted on said series of brackets comprising a plurality of wall panels each comprising a rear metallic pan of generally rectangular shape in front elevation having a perimetric stepped ange providing in each of the vertical side and horizontal upper and lower edges of the pan a pair of offset rear and front steps, including a rear high step and a front low step in each of the horizontal upper and lower edges of the pan, and each panel including also a front metallic pan having a perimetric plane flange lapping the front steps only of the rear pan in nested relation and being secured thereto, an insulating filling completely enclosed in said panel by said pans, a metallic socket block welded to the inner surface of each of said rear pan high steps, a pin standing through an opening in the horizontal liange of each bracket and projecting in tightly driven relationship into the vertically aligned socket blocks of an upper panel and a lower panel disposed respectively above and below said bracket and secured by said pin to said horizontal flange against movement toward and away from said vertical flange, and a sealing strip of gasket material filling `the space between the ad- Y 1 1 jacent low steps of said two panels, the vertical ange of each of said brackets being provided with a vertical slot and being thereby vertically adjustably secured to the wall member of Lthe building by a boltlstanding through said slot, and said opening in the horizontal flange of each bracket being a slot extending parallel to the front edge of said ange, whereby the placement of the pin and hence of the vupper and lower panels is laterally adjustable, and the outer low step of the rear pan at the lower edge of each panel being disposed farther below the inner high step of said rear pan at said lower edge than the distance by which the outer low step of the rear pan of the upper edge extends below the inner high step of said rear pan at said upper edge, whereby the space provided between the high steps of the pans of said upper and lower panels for accommodating the horizontal ange of the bracket is greater than the space provided between the low steps of the pans of said panels for filling by said sealing strip.

References Cited in the tile of this patent Re. 23,074 1,706,769 1,779,814 1,937,186 2,001,605 2,023,452 2,069,755 2,144,597 2,151,148 2,270,555 Y 2,471,510 f 2,853,870

UNITED STATES PATENTS Henderson Jan, 11, Buck Mar. 26, Heimburger Oct. 28, Barrett Nov. 28, Foster May 14, Voegeli Dec. 10, lFoster Feb. 9, Reed et al. Ian. 17, Plumb Mar. 2l, Putnam Jan. 20, Anthony May 31, Sinner et al Sept. 30,

FOREIGN PATENTS France Mar. 18, 

